liggett



W. K. LIGGETI. PORTABLE SACKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2l. 1916. 1,820,249. Patented OCI. 28,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET lw. K. LIGGEII.

PGRTABLE SACKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED N-ov. ZI. I9I6.

Patented Ovt. 28, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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WILLIAM K. LIGGETT, F COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOB T0 THE JEFFREY MANUFACTUR- ING' COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION 0F OHIO.

Speciication of Letters Patent.

Patenten oet. as, reis.

Application led November 21, 1916. Serial No. 132,67.

I T0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM K. LIGGETT,

a citizen of the United States, residing at specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in portable `sacking machines, and especially to that class of sacking machines which is adapted to reclaim material from an open stock pile and transfer it to sacks for final disposition.

In, many manufactories, such as Portland cement mills, fertilizer factories, and the like, the finished product is deposited in open heaps, or stock piles, from which it must be transferred to sacks for convenient transportation.

I am aware that portable elevating machines have been proposed for gathering such material into convenient hoppers from which it may be drawn into the sacks, but as heretofore constructed these 'machines have possessed certain inherent defects which it is the .object of the present invention to overcome.` The especial object of this invention isto provide in a machine of the class described, improved means for elevating the material of the stock piles into a suitable hopper having gated` spouts through which the said material may be drawn into conveniently disposed sacks.

A further object is to provide improved gathering means by which the material of the stock pile shall be fed into the buckets of the elevator.

A further object is to provide improved mountings for the machine which shall adapt it to be conveniently transported from place to place about the works. v

The devices by which I attain these objects are fully set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the preferred embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a general plan view of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1.

v Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the machine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. l 4:. is a fragmentary detail of the mountings of the foot wheels of the elevator. Fig. 5 is a fragmentarydetail of the ad- ]ustable mounting of the rear axle.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the frame of the feeding mechanism showingl the methodof mounting it upon themain frame of the machine. A

Like numerals refer to similar parts in the several figures. The machine, as illustrated in the drawlngs, comprises an elevator ofthe endless chain and bucket type, mounted 'upon a wheel supported frame and having a raking device adapted to gather material from the ground into the elevator buckets to be discharged into a suitable hopper from which it may be drawn into conveniently disposed sacks.

The supporting framework comprises an inclined ladder-like structure having the side rails 1 joined together by cross angles 2, 3 and 4, and the horizontal sill members 5 and vertical angle bars 6 joined together in the usual manner of structural steel construction to form a substantial framework. Extending across the frame work, midway its length, and' passing through the stirrup castings 7 attached to the sill members 5, is the front axle 8 at each end of which is mounted, for free rotation, the ground wheels 9. Formed on the inner side of one of the legs of each of the stirrup castings 7 are gear racks 10 the teeth of which engage the spur pinion 11 keyed to the axle 8. A hand lever 12 is attached to the aXle by which it, together with the pinions 11 may be rotated to cause the said pinions to climb in the racks 10 to lift the frame structure relative to the axle, thereby increasing, or decreasing the height of the frame from the ground according to the direction of rotation of the lever 12. An arcuate bar 13 attached to the sill member 5 concentric with the stirrup casting 7 is provided with aperturesl adapted'to register with the aperture 15 of the hand lever 12 when it is in one of its several positions of adjustment, and through these apertures may be thrust a pin 16 to hold the parts in the desired-relation. By this arrangement of parts the frame structure may be elevated toafford suitable ground clearance when moving the machine from place to place, or it may be lowered to bring the foot of the elevator into contact with the ground to gather material therefrom.

The rearward wheels 17 are mounted to Yform a caster adapted to be turned in any direction to steer the machine when being moved. These wheels 17 are freely rotatable upon the axle 18 secured to the bolster pad 19 which is pivotally attached to the lower end of the kin bolt 2O to afford a rocking support for t e latter. The king bolt 2O is journaled in the vertically disposed journal bearings 21 attached to the cross member 22 of the machine frame, and is formed with a shoulder upon which the bearing 21 rests to support the weight of the rearward end of the machine. The king bolt 20 is provided with laterally extending wings 23 to which is attached the handle 24 by which the machine may be pulled from place to place and by-which the wheels 17 may be turned to control the direction of travel. v

. The elevator comprises a series of `buckets 25 attached to twol parallel'endless chains 26.

adapted to travel around the head sprocket wheels 27 and the foot traction wheels 28 in the manner common to elevator practice. The head sprocket wheels are attached to the head shaft 29 journaled in the bearings 30 fixed to the upper ends of the side rails 1 of the inclinedvladder. To the projecting end of the shaft 29 is fixed a spur gear 31 enmeshwith spur pinion 32 attached to the intermediate shaft 33 which is connected through the sp'ur rear 34 and the armature pinion 35 with the electriomotor 36 by which power is supplied to drive the machine. The motor 36 is supported upon a conveniently disposed bracket 37 at the side of the frame structure. While I have shown in the drawings an electric motor it is to be understood that any suitable source of motive power maybe employed withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention. The intermediate shaft 33 is journaled in suitable bearings 38 attached to the side rails 1. Mounted upon the end of the shaft 33 remote from the gear 34 is a sprocket wheel 39 connected thereto by a clutch 40 under the control of the hand lever 41. The purpose of the sprocket wheel 39 will hereinafter appear.

The foot traction wheels 28 are mounted for free rotation upon the foot shaft 42 which is rigidly secured to the sliding frame 43 adapted to movement longitudinally of the ladder structure under the control of the adjusting screw 44 to edect the adjustment The gathering device by which the material is fed into the elevator buckets com-v prises an endless chain 46 having scraper fiights 47 ,attached at spaced intervals, and adapted to travel around the sprocket wheel 48 and 'the traction wheel 49. Thesprocket wheel 48 is mounted upon the shaft 50 which is journaled in the bearings 51 bolted to the overhanging ends of the sill members 5. To the projecting end'of the shaft 50 is fixed a sprocket wheel 52- which is connected through the chain 53 with the sprocket wheel 39 of the intermediate power shaft 33 to drive the feeding mechanism. rlhe bearings 51 have laterally projecting cylindrical eX- tensions upon the outer surfaces of which are journaled the bearings 54 to which the angle bars 55 of the feeder frame are attachedto adapt them to rotation in vertical planes about the shaft 50. The angle bars 55 are formed to converge forwardly to points within the vertical planes bounding the path of travel of the Scrapers 47 from which points to the outer end of the feeder frame they are parallel, and are. joined together by the connecting plate 56 and the yoke casting 57 to forma rigid frame to support the gathering mechanism. The traction wheel 49 is freely mounted upon the shaft 58 which is carried by the yoke casting 59 and provision is made for tensioning of the chain 46 by slotting the holes 60 through which extend the bolts 61 to connect the yoke casting to the anglebars 55.

Many classes of material which are adapted to be handled by this machine, tend to become compacted when left in piles for some considerable time, and under such circumstances the scraper flights 47 and the elevator buckets 25 tend to cut out the paths for themselves in the mass of the material having vertical sides which Aengage any pro- .jections 'of the supporting framework to 1n- Aterferewith the further advance of the machine into the pile. Under such circumstances the machine must be backed away from the pile and moved laterally to attack the mass in a new place. To avoid this difficulty the supporting framework 43 of the foot shaft of the elevator, and the yoke casting 57 and forward part of the framework of the feeding mechanism have beenvkept within the lateral limits of the path of travel of the buckets 25 and the `scrapers 47 thereby materially increasing the convenience of operation and the general utility of the machine.

Mounted in suitable bearings of the main frame structure is a horizontal shaft 62 having a winding drum 63 upon which may be wound the rope 64 which, after passing around the guide sheaves 65, is attached to the cross angle 66 of the feeder frame. A hand crank 67 affords-means for rotating the drum to wind the rope to rotate the unwinding of the rope, thereby'holdingthe feeding'devi'ce in any desired angularp'osition. l

Secured to the vertical membersof the main frame structure'is a sheet metal hop'- per 70 adapted to receive material as it is discharged'from the buckets of the elevator. This hopper terminates downwardly in two laterally diverging spouts 71 each of lwhich is fitted with a valve-to control the flow of material therethrough. These valves comprise a valve housing 72 having transverse slideways in which is slidable the valve plate 73. The valve plate 73 is fitted at one end with the hand pull 74 by which the plate may be moved in the slideway, and at the other end with the stops 75 which prevent its accidental removal from the housposition to register with the spout 71 to'v allow the free flow of material therethrough,

and the length of the plate is such that j when in its other position the spout will be entirely closed. Below the valve housing 72 is a cylindrical spout extension 7 adapted to engage-the mouth ofa sack to direct the flow of material thereto. --A sheet metal trough 78, attached to the frame work immediately below the return strand'of the elevator, serves to catch the material spilled therefrom and conduct it to the ground, and

the trundling handle 24 and swinging wheel 17 permit it to be readily adjusted in po` sition such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The motor is then set in motion causingl the buckets of the elevator to travel upward in the direction of the arrow The pawl 69v is then released and the ropes 64 unwoundV to lower the feeder until it engages with the' material, and the clutch lever 41 is moved to engage thev clutch 4:0 to cause power from the motor to actuate the chain 46. The flight 47 draws, the material rearywardly as indicated by the arrow y, to be picked up by the buckets 25 at z. The feeder can be allowed to descend directly downward at proper speed or with certain classes of material it may rest directly upon class have been proposed provided with vertically rotatable raking evices adapted to gather material intothe buckets of the elevator, notably that'disclosed in the August 20, 1910. In all such machines of which I am aware the pivotedframe upon which the raking device is mounted extends' laterally beyond the vertical planes bound'- ing the path of the Scrapers. When-such a device is used to reclaim material which has' become 'compacted .in the stock piles, the

flights tend to cut for themselves lpathways in t'1e` material having vertical sidewalls which engage the projecting frame members to prevent their further descent into the mass and the consequent interruption of atent to Seitz and Barnes, No. 681,142 issuedthe operation of the feeder.. In like manner the buckets of the elevator tend to carve groovesin the mass-of the stock pile, the

v`Walls of'which engage'any projections of the supporting framework. to prevent the furtherV advance of the machine along that path. By the improvements herein set forth I have adapted machines of this class to use -with material-not previously contemplated thereby greatlyincreasing its field of usefulness.

What I claim is: v

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of the main frame having the rectangular bottom horizontal element with a rotary shaft at the front end connecting the slde bars thereof, the upwardly extending frame section, the bucket elevator having its upper end mounted in the last said frame section, the shaft at the lower end of the elevator mounted in the bottom horizontal 'frame section, the endless rake device having its drive'wheels on the aforesaid cross shaft, the axis of which is approximately in the horizontal plane of the axis of the'lower elevator shaft, the rear steering wheels for the said frame, the relatively large supporting wheels under the central part of the said horizontal frame and arranged to allow the endless rake and the` lower end ofthe bucket conveyer to swing vertically over a clear ground space 1n front of said wheels, and means for adjusting the overhanging front end of the frame with the rake and the lower end' of the elevator on the central supporting wheels.

2. In a machine of the class described the combination of the main frame having the rectangular bottom horizontal element, the upwardly extending frame element, the rear ground wheels, the forward wheels on a transverse axis near the central part longi- ,tudinally of the horizontal frame section,

the forward part of the frame in front Vof the wheels overhanging the ground with a clear unobstructed space below it, the elevator having its'upper end mounted in the upper part of theframe and its lower end mounted on an axis approximately in the horizontal. plane of the lower frame section, the endless rake, the driving .shaft for the rake mounted directly on the'forward overhanging part of the main frame on an axis approximately in the horizontal plane of the'lower axis of the bucket elevator, means associated with the forward wheels for vertically swinging the overhanging part of the main frame around the rear wheels,l

the active parts of the bucket elevator extending laterally beyond the vertical planes of the lower part of the elevator frame, and the active parts of the rake extending laterally beyond the frame of the rake, the rake being arranged. to deliver material directly to the mouths of the buckets at their loading points. I

` 3. In a machine of the classdescribed, the combination with a frame, of an elevator carried by the frame adapted to gather material from the ground, vertically extending guide ways in the frame, a rotatable axle extending transversely of the frame and.

adapted to vertical movement in the guide ways, ground wheels mounted upon the axle to support the frame, and means actuated by the rotation of the axle to vertically move it in the guide ways to adjust the foot of the elevator relative to theground.

'4., In a machine of the class described, the combination with a frame, of an elevator carried by the frame adapted to gather material from the ground, an axle extending transversely of the frame and adapted to vertical movement relative thereto,

combination with a frame, of an elevator carried by the frame adapted to gather material from the ground, an axle extending transversely of the frame and adapted to vertical movement relative thereto, ground wheels upon the axle to support the frame, pinions upon the axle, racks attached to the frame in engagement with the pinions, and means to cause the rotation of the pinions to move a the axle to e'ect the vertical adjustment of the foot of the elevator relative to the ground or to prevent their rotation to maintain such adjustment.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM K. LIGGETT. Witnesses:

Dumm' T. FISHER, HARRY C. DEAN.l 

